"So," breathed Saigon. "That was—"

I smiled to myself as we laid on the kitchen table. "I enjoyed it, too."

"Really?" He rose up on his elbow.

I motioned to myself. "Do you need to ask?"

Saigon smiled and leaned in for a kiss. I rose up to meet him.

"I love you," he whispered. "I really, really love you."

Kissing him again, I peered into his eyes. "I care about you. I like being with you, so just because I can't say it back yet, don't start thinking we're not going to work."

He shrugged. "I'm willing to take anything I can get. Having you here with me is enough." Falling on top of me, he gave me a hug.

"Stop," I groaned. "You're so heavy. We're gross right now. Let's go take a shower."

Saigon shot up and gave me a grin. If he had been in werewolf form, his tail would've been wagging. I knew what he was thinking.

"One time wasn't enough, huh?"

"Is it enough for you?" He flashed me a smirk and glanced at my waist.

Falling back, I rubbed my face. "I guess not."

I hopped off the table and Saigon was right behind me. He stuck to me as we went upstairs and herded me into his bathroom. Kicking off his jeans, he dragged me into the shower.

I couldn't help but laugh at his desperation. "Are you that sexually frustrated?"

He frowned at me as he nodded. "I've barely been allowed to touch you."

With a scoff, I kissed him. "Well, your patience has been rewarded."

Saigon turned on the water as we explored each other's mouths. My stomach started to growl.

"Do you want to order delivery?"

"Sure," I replied. "But we can worry about that later."

Pushing Saigon up against the wall, I ground our lower halves together. His hands traveled up my back to my hair. I could taste it again. Saigon's enzyme coated the inside of his mouth.

Pulling back, I let out a deep breath. "I can taste it."

He covered his mouth. "Sorry."

"It's not bad. I can't taste mine."

"Sorry."

I moved his hand and gave him a peck. "I know you're stronger than me. You're going to be the next beta, remember?" I laughed. "You scared the shit out of me that night."

He swallowed hard. "It wasn't a good night for either of us."

Resting my head on his chest, I wrapped my arms around him. "I made a mistake. I knew it, too. The next day after Darius punished us, I wasn't happy. I thought being with her would make me feel better about myself and we'd be happy together. I tried to make it like I had imagined having a mate should be, but she never cared."

"I care about you."

"I know that," I laughed. "You care too much..."

He rubbed my back.

"I should've known it was bad when my dad didn't like her."

"Peter?"

"Yeah, he sees the good in everyone, and even he didn't care much for her. He tried a lot harder than my father. He flat out hated her."

"Rupert is not one to sugar coat anything. I dreaded being put under him when on patrol as a pup."

"Tell me about it. I always had to go with him. He thought I might slack off if I was sent with anyone else."

Saigon rested his head against mine. "Or he wanted to make sure nothing happened to you."

I let out a sigh. "That, too."

"I'm sorry these past few years have been hard on you."

Leaning back, I met his gaze. "I did it to myself. I was scared of you at the time. I knew I could never be the strongest dominant or even reach the top level, but I still tried. That was something you seemed to be born to do. I mean hell, you are the beta."

He cupped my face. "I would never force you. That night my only concern was protecting you from Darius. I'd never lose myself to the point of doing that to you."

"I get that now." I bounced my forehead against him. "You would have already marked me if you didn't have a little self-control."

Saigon rolled his eyes. "What is with everyone thinking dominants are horny bastard who are constantly looking for someone to fuck?"

"Well, I'm a dominant, too."

"Hmm..." He arched a brow. "We're kind of a bad combination, then."

I smiled at him, leaning in for a kiss. "The worst."

***

I leaped onto the couch and handed Saigon a coke while I settled for a bottle of water. He was finishing off some weird salad that came with the fried chicken bucket.

"Thank you."

Twisting off the lid, I took a drink and watched the news. It was a werewolf broadcast from Midfield he connected to through the internet.

"Do they worry about humans finding this website?" I asked.

Saigon shrugged. "The website is pretty well protected. Emails and passwords are approved by Midfield. It so fucking long, I have to find the paper that has it every time I log on." He rubbed his brow. "They have a note at the bottom that says everything is fake as well, just in case."

"I don't think that'll stop the extremist."

"No." He shrugged. "Probably not. They're not divulging pack secrets, either."

"True."

I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Were you really okay with it?" he asked.

"Stop asking," I muttered. "I enjoyed it. I'm not forcing myself to be with you."

Saigon tried not to smile but failed. He looked rather proud of himself as he sipped his soda.

"Let's not go and tell the whole world we jacked each other off, though."

Nodding, he stared at the screen. "I wasn't going to."

***

(Saigon)

"I need your advice."

Liam looked at me, confused. "My advice?" He glanced over his shoulder at Cyrus, who was ordering for us. "About what? Beta shit is between you two."

"No, not that. Some advice with Archer." I licked my lips. "We've done things..."

"You had sex?"

"No!" I held out my hand. "That's like way too far for him. We just jerked each other off."

"That's sex, Saigon."

I groaned. "It depends on how you define it. Anyways, he seemed to enjoy it, but I worried he only did it because I wanted to."

"Did he cum?"

I nodded.

"Then, you're fine." The sub took out his phone to look at a text. "He enjoyed it, we all know you did, so stop reading into it. I haven't been around Archer a lot, but he's a dominant. He'll do what he wants. It's how you guys are raised." He motioned to me and flicked his hand in the direction of Cyrus.

"I don't want to mess this up."

"Then stop worrying when there's nothing to worry about," said Liam. "Archer chose to be with you. He chose to have sex with you. Maybe his feelings aren't on the same level as yours, but I hate Cyrus at first. At least, you're not starting there. It takes time and Archer has been hurt before. No one likes getting hurt, so give the poor man some room to think. Honestly, I'm surprised you've gone that far."

"Yeah..." I swallowed hard. "Don't tell Cyrus. I wasn't supposed to say anything, but I need someone to confirm that I'm paranoid over nothing."

"Sure, sure. I'll keep your secret."

I smiled.

"As long as you reserve Monday of finals week to do a study session with me?" He glanced at me. "Deal?"

"Deal," I replied as Cyrus walked to the table with our drinks.

"Here you go." He passed them to us. "What were you talking about?"

"Calculus," said Liam, before taking a sip of his coffee. "What else?"